Customer Reviews

Star Trek: Deep Space Nine: Warpath (Star Trek Deep Space Nine (Unnumbered Paperback))

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is a good example of good Trek literature. It was not bogged down with some typical science-fiction plot. There was no alien mystery to solve, there wasn't some long introduction to some alien species or the feel that this was another Trek episode. This had the feel of something epic, big, something that would be fit for a movie. The story, for me, was on the lines of Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan and The Undiscovered Country. It's the first book that I was able to fly through and not feel that lost.

What made it so good was that it was a story about the characters. Each of the characters seemed to come to a crossroads. This book sort of felt like a transition to things to come. A new threat has been hinted at, a new role and future for Sisko, two characters are near death ... it's great material. Yeah, it is sort of annoying that you get to the end only to find a "to be continued" but then again, a lot of the Deep Space Nine Re-Launch has been like that.

This book really made me appreciate the Vaughn character more. He's humanized here, made to be less of a big figure and his role as a father is explored. Tarantar is also explored some and turns into the enemy of the novel (as you may be able to tell from the title and cover). There were nice moments between other characters, such as Dax and Sisko, Ro and Quark and such, but I found this to be more about Vaughn and Tenemi's relationship as father and daughter. This novel also managed to tie in to another rather important plot that was left sort of unfinished in the television series.

In all, this is what keeps me reading Trek fiction. Definately surprised me by how good it was and how easy it was to get into and finish. If you haven't read other DS9 Re-Launch books like "Avatar" and "Unity" I'd definately hold off though ... you'll appreciate this novel after you've invested some time getting familiar with the relaunch series and these new faces. Definately worth your time and the read.

David Mack (who wrote "A Time to Kill" and "A Time to Heal" in the ST:TNG series) has done an excellent job picking up the many threads that were left hanging for readers in the DS9 world after all the short stories in the "Worlds of DS9" were published, and beginning (and yes, the story is not yet finished - there is an advertised sequel coming) to weave them all together.

Basic plot: Taran'atar, the Jem'Hadar that Odo sent to live on DS9, has snapped. After nearly killing Kira and Ro, he manages to get off the station undetected, with Prynn Tenmei as his pilot/hostage. As Bashir and the medical staff work frantically to save Kira and Ro, Vaughn takes the Defiant and begins to try to track down Taran'atar, leaving Dax in charge of the station, Nog trying to find out the reasons behind Taran'atar's actions, and Quark at Ro's bedside.

That's just the basic plot. (Here be a small spolier!) Things really begin to get more and more complicated when the alternate universe is brought into the mix. Two major cliffhangers from the short stories - the massacre of Sidau village, and Taran'atar's mental state and attack on Kira and Ro - are also explained.

Strong points:
- Kira's struggle to live (Prophets included)
- Ro and Quark's interactions
- Vaughn's internal perceptions of his relationship with Prynn
- Prynn's fight to survive her kidnapping

Weak points:
- Alternate universe (I've never been a huge fan of it, but at least it works well and isn't just brought into the plot for the fun of making Kira a power-hungry sex machine)
- Dax in charge of DS9 (she gets to do almost nothing except pass along information and talk with Sisko)

This was a fun, fast read - if you were hooked on the DS9 relaunch, you NEED to read this book. Mack has a good handle on the characters, the story is very tightly written, and there are no slow points. The major down side - there are still many questions to be answered, and there is no publication date given for the advertised sequel! I can't wait a full year AGAIN for another book!

Outside of Peter David's New Frontier novels, the DS9 re-launch is the best thing going in Trek publishing right now. (The Titan series could jump up there given time).

What's amazing about the DS9 books is that unlike David's New Frontier series which has one author and one vision, the DS9 novels are written by a handful of different writers, each of whom brings their strengths to the stories but yet there's a consistent feel and direction to these books.

It's been over a year since the last installment of the World's of Deep Space Nine hit the shelves, leaving many characters lives in chaos and the series at a crossroads. David Mack's Warpath picks up literally seconds after the stories of Worlds of DS9 and doesn't let up to the final page. This one of those books that is instantly addictive. The story shifts from one plot thread to another (there are about three running) but you never feel as if one is being short changed. Instead, all three are interesting and compelling and while we concentrate a good deal on Kira, Ro, Vaughn, Tarrantar and Prynn, the novel does allow us a glimpse of how the other characters are doing and reacting to events.

And while we do get a good bit of Tarrantar and Vaughn, the real star of this book is Pyrnn. She's been one of the lesser developed charaters of the re-launch, but Mack handles her with ease and confidence here. She's the star of the show and my opinion of the character changed over the course of the book-for the better.

In TV terms, this is the season premiere for the DS9 reluanch. It will bring you up to speed on what's going on in the universe quickly and it starts to set up things for future books to examine (not soon enough in my estimation....I need a new book now!). If you're new to the series, while you can jump in and Mack does a great job of explaining where things are, you still may be lost. I recommend it, but only if you're willing to invest the time to catch-up on the series. The series is worth is and Warpath will be that much better.

After what seems like forever, Warpath is finally out. The latest Star Trek: Deep Space Ninenovel has a lot on its plate, with two cliffhangers from the previous three books to resolve. Trek fans have been waiting with bated breath for it, and the enormous sigh of relief as I got it into my grubby little hands was almost audible. I raced through it in less than a day and then took a little time to formulate my thoughts. There's a good and a bad side to this, however. The good thing is that the book is very good, satisfying that DS9 craving that I've had for a while, and making the wait until April 2007 very long (though at least we *have* a date, which sometimes we don't in the Trek universe). The bad thing is that heightened expectations usually lead to at least mild disappointments. That's also the case here, though the good definitely outweighs the bad.

First, let me get this off my chest. ANOTHER CLIFFHANGER?????

Ok, that's done. What about the book? Anybody who regularly reads Trek fiction knows that David Mack is one of the best action writers around, and that nobody's safe in his hands. That's why one of the climactic instances in Warpath, one of those seemingly clichéd "will he/she survive?" moments, actually seems dangerous. The action scenes are plenty in this one, though some of them seem a little superfluous. All of them are well-done, though, gripping the reader despite the fact that we don't know any of the people involved in some of them. The ones that don't quite work aren't because the action is badly written, but because they seem tacked on to make the Cardassian seem even "cooler." There are three or four sequences scattered around the novel where bounty hunters are chasing this Cardassian woman, and each one ends up reaching the same conclusion, just in different ways. Yes, we get the fact that she's a bad M-F, we don't really need to see it repeated ad nauseam. However, the scenes themselves are quite good, written in perfect Mack style.

Mack captures the regulars perfectly, making them a joy to read about. Taran'atar is a tortured soul (though we don't find out why until the middle of the book), but he's still intelligent and a formidable adversary. The way he tricks Vaughn to get off his trail for a few hours is quite ingenious (which unfortunately leads to a lot more Vaughn angst about his daughter, which I wish we would see the back of). I loved the way Nog and Bashir piece together exactly what's happening, and I even liked how Bashir at first began to doubt the ethics of creating a weapon using Taran'atar's last brain scan, mainly because it might kill him. I also really liked the Quark/Ro scenes, showcasing how, even though they've decided not to pursue a relationship, they are still quite close. A lot of the Ro tension (will she ever be able to walk again?) seemed a bit forced because there's always some kind of technology in Trek to make that not an issue, but the reactions were right on the money.

This brings us to Kira. While she's in a coma, she has visions of the Prophets (the wormhole aliens who are the Bajoran gods) and they warn her about the coming of the Ascendants (first revealed in Rising Son). They also reflect back to another story where Kira was sent back into the ancient Bajoran past, and now she's back there again. She's the leader of the Bajora, an ancient people, who are trying to enter a city occupied by the Eav'oq just as the Ascendants are coming to obliterate everything. These visions definitely mean something, as the Acsendants have been "coming" in the real world for some time now. Ben Sisko warned of their coming as well when he returned. The visions are important, but at times they just dragged the story down to a halt. I liked the relationship between the names of the characters in the vision and the ones we know and love (I won't say what it is for those of you who will read it), and I definitely got a rising sense of foreboding from these visions, but I didn't enjoy reading about them that much.

The writing of Warpath is very good, but the difference between Mack's writing and David R. George III's writing (from Olympus Descending) is quite jarring, so be prepared if you're reading one right after the other. Both are good, but they are quite unique from each other. As I said earlier, the action scenes kick [...], but the other scenes are good too. The continuation of the Deep Space Nine saga is an excellent novel marred by a few missteps. I just wish we didn't have to wait another year for what may be the resolution (or might not be). What felt like the "secret" of the book was let out really early, which made the climax of the story almost jaw-dropping. What seemed like it would be a rather pedestrian plot kicks into overdrive just as the book ends. It will definitely leave you wanting more.

David Roy

Anybody trying to argue that Star Trek is dead or dying hasn't read the DS9 relaunch novels. Warpath continues this fine tradition of good story telling and probably benefits from taking canon into its own hands.

The only thing I would caution is that there is reference to things that happened in the Gateway novels (I think at least, it's been awhile). It's not 100% necessary to have read the DS9 books (and part of the conclusion) but it definitely would add more meaning.

Some of the battle/fight scenes got a little too descriptive and detail-laden for my tastes. Also, part of Kira's experiences had me flashing back to quite a bit of Lord of the Rings -- maybe it was just the mental picture I formed.

However, don't be mistaken, it's worth the read. I think if nothing else it will be a strong stepping stone between novels as this continuation... continues. Couldn't wait to get my hands on this and now my only disappointment is that I'm done with it. The referenced sequel "Fearful Symmetry" is currently slated to keep us hanging until April of 2007.

This book picks up where "Olympus Descending" (from Worlds of Star Trek DS9 vol. 3) ended...or at least, where the DS9 portion of that story ended. No mention is made of anything in the Gamma Quadrant from that story. It also wraps up a mystery from the Bajor story in WOSTDS9 vol 2, and sets up even more mysterious events for the future.

Storywise, I was satisfied. The plot is equally character-driven and situation-driven, and there are many resolutions which I am glad to see, chief of which is the apparant rift-mending between Elias Vaughn and his daughter. I've never been a fan of Prynn, but for the first time in reading these books I was on her side and hoping that she would make it. The final denoument between herself and her father was a bit too melodramatic and overwraught, but I'll let it slide, solely because I hope it's dealt with once and for all. If they have another falling out, I won't give a whoot.

Surprisingly, I did not hate Taran'atar as much as I thought I would. No one will excuse him for what he did, but I could understand the logic of everything that he did by the end of the book and I foresee an important place for his character in the future.

The seemingly random accounts of the Cardassian mercenary play a role in the story, but it takes a while to see what that role is. It's almost like Conan the Barbarian time-warped to the Star Trek Universe, but it is written interestingly (and bloodily; this is by far the goriest threadline I've seen in any Star Trek novel). I am not sure how to take the ending of that plotline though, which involves the Intendant and someone who I thought was a fabrication by Gul Dukat back in the TV series. To my mind, the second person's appearance is a bit too McGuffin-ny. Why does she hate Kira so? Hopefully we will get a bit more background in the next novel.

And bring Odo back!

This is another great post-DS9 story and another great story from David Mack. If you like star trek or DS9 get this book it desveres more tham just 5 stars.

I throughly enjoyed following the suspenseful story of Taran'atar. It was a great follow up to the last book of the series but left out anything about Odo and the ramifications of what happened with the great link. There was excellent character development, Sisko makes an appearance in this story but doesn't play a strong role.

There are so many questions waiting to be answered after this. The hierarchy on Deep Space Nine may be changed dramatically forever because of what happened. Also, after a point I thought that the relationship between Ro Lauren and Quark was pretty much over, but not after this. A major incident which happened fostered a strong bond between the two. The biggest question is what is Taran'atar doing and why? The confusing part was when the author inserted a story from a parallel universe or alternate reality which has Kira in it. Apparently, Kira is a renigade but also a war leader and one of the characters in the parallel universe made contact with Vaughn Elias. It appears as if the Deep Space Nine series will focus on the alternate universe story involving Kira for a while. I've seen the cover of the next book "Fearful Symmetry". It has a picture of Kira as a Cardassian on one side and her as a Bajoran on the other.

I'm a huge fan of the DS9 relaunch, and I was eagerly anticipating this book as a continuation of the exciting storyline the various authors had established. However, after the great descriptions and plots of the previous books, especially the "Mission: Gamma" and "Worlds of DS9" series, I was very much disappointed by "Warpath". Like "Unity", the book does advance the plot, and provide some excellent action scenes, but not much else - it definitely does not share the depth and stand-alone nature of the other books. Furthermore, the author liberally reuses a number of plot ideas from previous Star Trek novels, such as the melodrama between Vaughn and Prynn, Ro and Quark. I also intensely disliked the ending, came totally out of nowhere, and didn't expand the DS9 universe at all, something the previous books were excellent at accomplishing. I hope the next installment follows the path established by the previous novels, instead of this new trend.

Mack definitely knows DS9 and the characters. The direction he took for new Jem'Hadar character is definitely refreshing. But, the story seems to have been written (or maybe edited) in a hurry to tie up loose ends, rather than tell a standalone story.